Taxidermy work on 2019 Whitetail

[sage5907]

Today I hung my whitetail buck up on the wall from the 2019 primitive rifle season. The buck was a basic 4 X 4 with double brow tines on each side for a total of 10 points. I get a lot of satisfaction by doing the taxidermy work myself. The buck was mounted on a Competitors Choice 170 form with an Eppley nose. The buck was taken with a White Super 91 50 caliber with a 430 grain super slug. It was so heavy that I called a friend to help me put it in the Jeep but it was so big that we could could not load it and I had to skin a dress the buck laying on the ground. Good things happen from time to time.

 

[Armored farmer]

Congrats on your hunt and your trophy.
It looks outstanding, well done.

 

[Nature Boy]

Wow. Nothing “basic” about that buck.

And you have some skills as a Taxidermist too.

 

[FL-NC]

Nice deer!

 

[troy fairweather]

Nice buck, I've wanted to try some taxidermy, but never had a good place to try it. I had a European boar done and my dad had his bison done, by quite a famous taxidermist, unfortunately we never got them, he skipped out on a lot of people.

 

[Nature Boy]

I've wanted to try some taxidermy, but never had a good place to try it

I tried it once. What do you think?

 

[troy fairweather]

I tried it once. What do you think?

View attachment 913277

better then what id do. You captured to look of fear well.

 

[Patocazador]

Are you a professional taxidermist? It looks like it.

A buck like that certainly should be mounted by a competent taxidermist ... and it was.

 

[troy fairweather]

What is the going rate for a buck shoulder mount these days, my worry is I ever get a buck worthy of mounting I won't have the money.

 

[Patocazador]

I tried it once. What do you think?
View attachment 913277

I think you and I should stick with Euro mounts.

 

[sage5907]

I tried it once. What do you think?

I put one together years ago and without any training it looked just like that. I put it together on my kitchen table and that was before I was married. The second time around I was more prepared. I started doing taxidermy work in 1999 and a very skilled full time taxidermist taught me how to do it. If anyone is interested I would suggest joining your state taxidermist association because just with a membership you can attend the yearly convention which has seminars on how to do things. I became interested in the yearly competition and won several 3rd place ribbons in the professional division. I only do mounts for my friends and I do only enough each year to keep my skill level up and to pay for supplies. I was never satisfied with the jobs done by other taxidermists and by doing my own mounts I get exactly what I want.

 

[sage5907]

What is the going rate for a buck shoulder mount these days, my worry is I ever get a buck worthy of mounting I won't have the money.

I honestly don't know what the cost is to do a shoulder mount and I'm sure it will vary by State. A logical price with a walnut panel would be about $400 and that would be on the low side. It costs about $200 for materials and if you tan your skin it will take about 20 hours to do the job so if you clear $200 your earnings would be about $10 an hour. You could make more money mowing lawns. It's not about the money for me and it's all about the skill level. Most of the guys who do it full time send the hides to a tannery and they have helpers who do the grunt work so they can clear more money. The challenge for people who do it commercially is whether they want to do 70 deer at $400 or 35 deer at $600 and either way their revenue would be the same.

 

[Captcurt]

Very nice mount. I think he winked at me. My first buck was mounted by an beginner. It looks like a dead anorexic deer. He also did a bobcat for me and put the eyes in wrong. It looks like it is scared to death, so I really appreciate nice work. A good taxidermist here charges $500- $600 for a shoulder mount.

 

[sage5907]

Very nice mount. I think he winked at me. My first buck was mounted by an beginner. It looks like a dead anorexic deer. He also did a bobcat for me and put the eyes in wrong. It looks like it is scared to death, so I really appreciate nice work. A good taxidermist here charges $500- $600 for a shoulder mount.

One of the mistakes made by hunters doing their first mount is to mount the deer looking straight ahead and they always look like a deer in the headlights. I always use a left or right turn and mostly semi-sneak forms. This deer was mounted on a semi-upright form. After working with deer for 21 years I have learned the particular forms that look the best. A good taxidermist knows what a particular deer is going to look like before he puts it together.

 

[Obturation]

better then what id do. You captured to look of fear well.

honestly, I laughed so hard . I needed that.
Not that the mount is bad, the thing just looks spooked and slightly awkward . there is no way I could do better or even half as good.

 

[troy fairweather]

I don't know if it's just me but does anyone else have the picture of the animal in there head when they pulled the trigger,

 

[Milt1]

That's as good a mount as I've ever seen, you've got some skills!

 

[Patocazador]

A good taxidermist knows what a particular deer is going to look like before he puts it together.

I've seen some terrible mounts by professional taxidermists and some great ones. I found that very few (almost none) can do a really good job on all animals. One does deer/elk well while another is great with birds and some are good with fish.
I always tried to find a good one or three for each kind work that I needed.

I found a couple that were pretty darned-good but I believe Sage is better.

 

[Milt1]

I've seen some terrible mounts by professional taxidermists and some great ones. I found that very few (almost none) can do a really good job on all animals. One does deer/elk well while another is great with birds and some are good with fish.
I always tried to find a good one or three for each kind work that I needed.

I found a couple that were pretty darned-good but I believe Sage is better.

View attachment 913514

Yes Sir!!!

 

[redneck2]

none) can do a really good job on all animals. One does deer/elk well while another is great with birds and some are good with fish.

That’s exactly right. I had a guy locally that had won three national competitions on birds. I had him do two male woodies. Took about 18 months to get them back. Cost $300 each.

After 25 years they look like they are still alive and could fly off their mounts.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Great buck and nice work.
I wish I had the patience and ability to do that.
I had to pay 5 bills for mine this year.

 

[sage5907]

I've seen some terrible mounts by professional taxidermists and some great ones.

Many of the taxidermists work at two levels. They have a level that is called their commercial mount which is put together at a fast pace and they seem to accept whatever come out. It's basically a rushed job. If the deer doesn't really have a chance at being pretty such as one that is said to have a lot of character they may rush the job. Young deer may also get a rush job because they think the hunter may be inexperienced and not particular about what they get. Capes that have excess blood with a poor skinning job may also get this treatment. Capes that come from a meat processor are often in poor shape and soaked in blood. The taxidermist may do a poor job at selecting a form or just use whatever form they have even if it doesn't fit. The taxidermist not to use is one who takes in more work than he can do and lives off the deposits.

The other higher level of skill happens when the taxidermist is really trying to get a good mount and it happens mostly on a big mature deer when the antlers are symmetrical and the cape is pretty. It also happens when the cape comes to the taxidermist in clean condition without excess blood, bullet holes, the brisket isn't split up the front, and the cape is long in the brisket area. When everything is right the taxidermist may do a better job selecting a form and spend extra time with the detail which makes all the difference in the looks of the mount. Paying extra for a competition nose can really improve the looks of a mount. The best taxidermists are the ones who like the challenge of making the mount look as good as it can be. Taxidermists also specialize so if you want a high quality deer mount you wouldn't necessarily want to take it to someone who specializes in fish or birds unless you are familiar with their work.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Love me some split brow tines

 

[sage5907]

I appreciate the interest in taxidermy and I like to share things that are interesting to others. I am working on a deer today for a friend and the pictures show the form before the cape is installed. The form is a McKenzie 6500 Series which is popular with hunters and literally thousands of them have been used by taxidermists. I have roughed up the form to accept the hide paste, installed an Eppley nose using Bondo , installed the competition eyes, cut the lip slots, cut the pre-orbital gland slots and fitted the antlers to the form. Material is added under the antler burrs to hold the skin in place and to keep it from moving down as the cape dries. The antlers will be removed, the cape installed on the form, and the antlers put back on. Clay will be used around the eyes to build the eye brows and the shape of the eyes, around the skull plate to fill the void and to build the antler butts. The cape is already tanned and the inside of the ears formed out of Bondo. It will take me about four hours to install the cape, do the sewing and tucking, and adjusting the eyes. Everything will be pinned until the hide paste dries. The McKenzie form has a blocker head than the Competitors Choice form used above. I have raised the nose line to make the head look more like a mature buck because this is a really big buck. The 6500 Series form will make any buck look good no matter how big or small. McKenzie has about 6 nose lengths and 5 sizes for each nose length and they come in left turn, straight and right turn. That's at least 90 different forms so they can fit anything.